I just adopted a baby...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I’ve got one declawed cat (14 years old) and one not-declawed cat (5 years old). My declawed Siamese never took no for an answer–she’d scratch anything–but I’m still sorry I had it done. Sometimes she acts like her paw still hurts (I did this 6 years ago) so there may have been some minor nerve damage. My other cat has all his claws and is good about not scratching my older cat. When he scratches something else, we either spray him or pick him up and bring him over to his scratching post and run his paws on them while cooing goofy things like, “Good boy, Jack. See, this is where little kitties exercise their claws.”

As for the spaying of James’ cat–are you saying that nowhere in Canada is there an animal control center (like our ASPCA) that will do spaying for a discount? Here in New York they practically beg you to bring your cats in. Give one of those places a call.

My husband and I had to switch sides of the bed, because the cats jump up on one side and they were always landing–well, where it really hurt alot. He’d wake up in the middle of the night swearing. Now I sleep on that side. He sleeps better now.

BTW, my Jack is a little tuxedo cat. He’s the cutest cat on the planet that isn’t Siamese (that, of course, would be my other cat, Squirt). :slight_smile:

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Ah, I remember when I got my Bart kitty at six weeks. Now he’s 10 years old and weighs almost 20 pounds - FAT CAT! But I love him, even though he hates me. (It’s a cat thing.)

My sister persuaded me not to have him declawed when I had him fixed for the very humane reasons spoken about here, but I still wish I had had him declawed. So, in the alternative, scratching posts, water pistols and thwaps on the behind work well. If he starts to claw, either squirt him or pick him up and take him to the scratching post, just like you did to show him where the litter was. it ought to work.

Oh, and neutering a cat does not necessarily prevent him from spraying/scenting, so keep plenty of Febreeze on hand - Bart loved it when we got a new couch, so he decided to make it his own (our houseguests can still smell it - bleh!).

And take pictures.

Esprix

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My best advice to you is get another cat! :slight_smile: No, seriously, they seem much happier with a playmate so they have company when you’re not home. And as far as scratching, well, mine don’t claw furniture becuase they’ve gotten a big loud NO from me when they would do that since they were tiny kittens. Cardboard scratching trays and lots of things to play with are also a must. The cardboard trays can make a mess when they start to come apart, but you can sprinkle catnip in them so it goes down in the corrutations and they only get the smell. Mine LOVE those. I have 3 cats myself. The old guy is about 10 years old (Trouble :slight_smile: ) and the youngsters are about a year and a half, Molly, a calico female and Punkin, an orange tabby male. They are all neutered. Best of luck to you and Zazou and congrats on your new baby.

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In continuing coverage, I just took Zazou to the vet for his first checkup. You will all be happy to know that he is perfectly well and healthy, except for what might be a touch of constipation (I have to keep his water dish full - I’m doing so anyway). Also he weighs two pounds. And he was soooo brave during his vaccination! (Yes you WERE, my little sugartoes, yes you WERE!) He didn’t cry at all.

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Matt - just wait until they do the mite medicine!

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The gay guy got a little pussy.

Heh.

(For hours of cat fun, get one of those laser pointer thingies that you use in meetings, use it in a dark room with said cat and watch the cat go nuts trying to chase the light. Flash lights work as well too.)

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LMAO Shirley! Jeezus. Good one.

Matt, I’m glad your kitty will soon have a housemate, because I was also going to suggest getting another cat to keep her company. There should be a law against people having just one cat.

And here’s another vote for scoopable litter. I use a bargain brand called Simplicity Plus. Works better than the name brand scoopables, and daily scooping is lots easier than emptying the whole tray.

I believe there’s even flushable litter, if trash space is an issue where you live.

Just my opinion, I’m not a cat nutritionist, but our cats have always had just dry food, Purina, and we don’t switch brands or flavors. I know, it sounds boring to eat the same thing all the time, but I don’t think it is. And so far, we haven’t had any digestive problems. (Rick is 8 and Mick is 6, or thereabouts.)

People who have picky cats almost seem proud of this. “My Frasier only eats Fancy Feast Foie Gras.” I’ve never understood it. What if they stop making FFFG? You’re stuck and your cat will starve to death.

Try giving your kitty a bath. A cat we had years ago would let us bathe her under running water. She came to us with terrible fleas, and the baths were necessary. When she grew up, she liked to sleep in the kitchen sink. (Non-cat people would go ewwwwwwww, but there shouldn’t be any non-cat people here.)

We don’t spoil our cats. If we want a quiet night’s sleep without them, we close the bedroom door. We don’t pussyfoot around them, and we don’t let them dictate our behavior. Too much.

If you let your cat do things that annoy you, you’ll be annoyed at her, and it will affect your relationship. Not everything a cat does is “cute.” Well, maybe the first time, but that biting the ankles bit gets old after awhile.

And let your kitty hang out in high places. If you have china cabinets with Ming dynasty vases on top of them, move the vases.

Do you have a lot of money? Check out http://www.drsfostersmith.com – tons of useful items (like carrying crates) and toys and climbing things for your kitty. Get their catalog – lots of interesting articles and behavior tips. (For your cat, not you.)

Oh, and take lots of pictures. Post them on your website. If you don’t have a website, make one so you can put your kitty pictures on it.

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I shudder to even acknowledge that I even know this information but [bless me father for I have sinned] on Martha Stewart one day ( I was sick and too weak to use the remote!) she showed how to bath your cat. ( In my weakened state, I refered to it as, " Martha is washing her pussy")

Take a bucket of warm water and set your cat gently in the water until it can hang over the edge by it’s front legs arm pits. The cat will struggle and fight for a moment, but gently stroke your pussy. It will go into a kind of trance like state and you can proceed to wash your pussy. ( I forget the rest of how to dry you cat (a loud voice in back: put him in the dryer!) because I watched the program with the sincere hope that the cat would go nuts all over Martha’s face.)

Matt, thank you for the opportunity to say the P word so many times.